BBC4: What should we call ourselves?

How concerned should we be about the toxic language employed by some feminists to describe women who sell sex? In the aftermath of the killings in Bradford, it’s something to consider.

On BBC4,Catherine Stephens talked to Kevin Connelly about clinical words, nasty names and modern labels that shape the public conversation about prostitution. A member of Feminista tried to make the argument that we’re best viewed as “prostituted” – urging us to think of prostitute as a verb, not a noun.

This discussion aired on Broadcasting House, BBC4, May 30, 2010. The MP3 was created by PONY (Prostitutes of NY) for Harlot’s Parlour. (PONY, of course, embraces the noun.) Listen here!